BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Abstract

Cognitive Dissonance Theory is one of the most influential social psychology theories that has been widely implemented in the study of behavior, attitudes, and communication, but there is no national roadmap for its application in the social sciences as a comprehensive guideline for studying the topic. This study aims to formulate the productivity trends of Cognitive Dissonance Theory in the social sciences from 2016 to 2025 by tracing 317 indexed publications in the Scopus service. This study uses a bibliometric approach based on Biblioshiny and VOSviewer to analyze annual trends, the highest citations, the most productive authors, institutions, and countries, as well as keyword mapping, through seven stages: developing research questions, data sources, data collection, data processing, data analysis, interpretation of results, and reporting. The results of the study holistically show that the number of publications on Cognitive Dissonance Theory in the social sciences from 2016 to 2025 shows a significant increase, especially in studies of attitude change, message persuasiveness, and consumer behavior, with rapid growth in Asia, America, and Europe. In terms of quantity, China was recorded as the most productive country and author of publications, but in terms of quality, institutions in the United States showed superior academic productivity, while the most referenced studies originated from Europe, particularly the Netherlands. This study concludes that the trend of Cognitive Dissonance Theory in the social sciences contributes significantly to the development of disciplines, especially communication science, with theoretical and applied novelty values that are relevant to contemporary research.

Keywords: Bibliometrics, Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Social Sciences